


even monsters are sleeping now

by ebonynightwriter



Series: Shallura Week 2016 [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aftermath, Angst, Arguments, Canon Universe, Drama, F/M, Hurt / Comfort, One-Shot, PTSD, Post-Season/Series 01, Promises, Recovery, Shallura Week 2016, Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-31
Updated: 2016-08-31
Packaged: 2018-08-15 05:02:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8043556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ebonynightwriter/pseuds/ebonynightwriter
Summary: The distance between them is mere inches, maybe less than that – but they couldn’t be farther apart.





	even monsters are sleeping now

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N:** Wrote this thing out in about two hours. Kind of ‘ehhh’ about it but w/e, there’ll be others I can do better on. Takes place post-Season 1, after everyone reunites. ~~Stupid cliffhanger.~~
> 
> -.-
> 
>  **[shallura week (2016) // day 4](http://ebonynightwriter.tumblr.com/tagged/mine:%20shallura%20week%202016)** · distance
> 
> -.-

The barrier of the med-pod breaks with a flush of steam and Shiro lurches forward, hand grabbing the edge of the pod with an iron-tight grip. His shoulders feel heavy, as if gravity was crashing down on him, and he takes a moment, ignoring the warning sirens from the pod, to breathe, and gain his bearings. He’s in the Castle of Lions, the medical bay, just for a few hours after dinner. There’s nothing going on right now, they would’ve told him, would’ve woke him otherwise. They’re floating through space, on a mission to save the universe, all together—

_You’re part of the Galra Empire._

He flies forward, turning at the pod in an instant, breath shaken, eyes whirling around the room. The barrier to the pod closes, and it sinks beneath the floor. There’s no one behind it. Shiro turns around again, scanning the rest of the room, searching for Sendak as his hand reaches for his side…

_You could’ve been our greatest weapon._

…and closes it hard around the wound. The pain is sharp, but it drives Haggar’s voice from his mind. He waits, staring at the ceiling as the swell of heat subsides, and pulls up the shirt with stiff, clammy fingers. His head lowers, and his teeth press together as he looks at the marks, still glowing with the witch’s dark magic – not even _close_ to being healed. Even with shorter sessions, he’d hoped it wouldn’t take this long, but the magic in them was strong, even as a residual effect. It would take time – much more of it, it seemed – before they faded completely.

 _Then_ , he thinks, _maybe they’ll—_

He stops. His metal hand goes to cover his eyes as the shirt falls back to his hip. There’s a ringing in his ears, a pounding in his head. His brow tightens, and he can feel the dark energy sweeping around him all over again, just like it did on that day, see Zarkon in his mind—

 _You’re weak,_ he says. _You’re weak, and you will fail. You’ll never be a Paladin, you can never hope to—_

Neon purple shines on his eyes and Shiro pulls his arm away as the hand deactivates. It fades back to a mix of black and gray digits, and he closes them, his hand a tight fist.

“No,” he says. “You’re wrong.”

It’ll be a while before he sleeps again.

He leaves the room.

.

.

.

He finds her on the bridge.

She stands at the far end, hands weaving over the hovering tiles of the control panel. The white of her space suit stands out stark against the space before her, and he’s surprised to see her here, so late at night (or whatever passes for night in space—) and he enters the room with soft steps as the doors close behind him. Her back continues to face him. She hadn’t noticed him yet.

“Princess.”

Her shoulders jump, and she turns to him as he steps into the room. Her eyes stay locked onto him until he reaches her, and Shiro feels a rush of shame wash over him. He recognizes the look of panic on her face. Of fear.

“Shiro…” she says, blinking a few times to focus, as if she was finally just seeing him. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Sorry,” he says, hand going behind his head. “What are working on?”

“I was just finishing something,” she says, turning back to the panels. Her face calms as she looks at the controls, hands resting on the tiles. “The others have all gone to bed. You should too.”

“Yeah,” he replies. “I just needed to clear my head first.”

Allura doesn’t respond to him, and her hands moves across the boards again. Shiro steps back a bit, resting his back on the railing of the warp pad, thoughts hanging in his mind. There was something bothering him, something beyond voices and visions in his head. Something that had been lingering in it ever since the team got together again. Something that wanted to get out. It felt like so long ago—

_Just a few days ago…_

He asks it quickly. His voice is soft.

“Did they hurt you?”

Allura pauses for a half a second, blinking at the question before going back to her work.

“And who are you referring to?” she asks. He pushes from the rail.

“Zarkon…” he says. “Haggar… the Galra.”

She freezes, something in her suddenly moving so far away. Another face he recognizes, something from the prison ship… Her capture had lasted for hours at the most, but still, he had to be sure—

He takes a breath.

“Did they—”

“No,” she replies quickly. “They did not.”

Anger surges. His hand clenches.

“You can’t keep doing this,” he says. “We all need someone we can talk to about this stuff—”

“—and will that someone be you?” she asks, eyes snapping back to him. “I’m fine, just let me do my work in peace.”

“Princess…”

He steps forward. Her hands _slam_ on the panel.

“I said I am _fine!_ ”

He stops. Her words echo and fade and she shifts, sinking into the nearby chair to rest her fingers to her temple.

“I’m… fine,” she says again, speaking to the floor. “I don’t need you to dote on me.”

Shiro opens his mouth and closes it – the words can’t make it to his tongue. He looks away for a moment, understanding the need to be strong, unbreakable, even in their softest hours.

_But…_

“Princess,” he repeats, stepping to her chair. Her eyes are closed as he reaches her side, and when she opens them they are solemn and heavy, but as sharp as a blade.

She stands from the seat.

“I need you to promise me something,” she says, facing him. “I want you to _swear_. Swear on your honor as a Paladin of Voltron, if saving my life means endangering the fate of the universe, you _won’t_ take it.”

It takes him a moment.

“ _What?_ ” he says, shaking his head. “No _way,_ we wouldn’t just leave you—”

“Voltron is too important to risk on a rescue mission,” she says. She takes a step closer to him, head craned to meet his face. “You _can’t_ let that happen again!”

“You’re just as important,” he says. “We’re sitting ducks out here without you! We can’t even get a _wormhole_ running—”

“What I do with my life and for this team is up to _me_!” she shouts. “Not _you!_ ”

Her voice vibrates off his chest, and he looks down at her, anger building. The distance between them is mere inches, maybe less than that – but they couldn’t be farther apart. There was _no way_ he was promising to leave her. His body tense, and he takes a deep breath, stepping back.

“We wouldn’t have gotten this far without you…”he says. “We can’t do this without…”

Allura sighs, moving back to the panel.

“That’s what I’ve been working on,” she says, fingers hovering over the controls. “I’m reprogramming the castle to accept all members of the team. You, Coran, the others… You’ll be able to keep the Castleship going properly if I—”

He moves. Putting his hand on her wrist, he pulls it back from the control panel. She twists it back, facing him, her eyes _fire_.

“Don’t you—”

She stops. His face is twisted, coiled into knots.

“I can’t promise you. _Any_ of that,” he says. “None of us would _ever_ do that to you or Coran or anyone else.”

His hand slackens. Her arms falls to her side.

“We’re supposed to save the universe,” he says. “And that means you, too.”

She steps toward him, eyes resting at the ground.

“Very well.”

 


End file.
